A Contradiction of Amendment and Improvement
by Knightmare.Nyx
Summary: To the common man, dark colors and scowls and keeping knives on your person is the sign of a psychotic soul. It clearly screams to stay away from them. Laughter and darkness do not merge very well. When purity rivals with cruelty, it makes the match of rivaling Seth Clearwater with the most unlikely and hated person in the entire state of Washington, for people and police alike.
1. Prologue

Black pants. Black kohl. Black shirt. Black bag. Black hair and eyes.

She wore nothing but that color, and it brought out her soul. It was black too.

Like darkness. Numb. Emotionless. Cold.

There wasn't anything there.

At least, that was until a bright spark ignited something she'd never felt in her. It cause her eyes to flame, her skin tingle and her heart burn.

Frozen in time, it melted her and brought out a side of her she didn't know. And she hated it. Hated him.

It wasn't stereotypical.

It wasn't love, drama, supernatural, love, happily ever after.

It wasn't Mary Sue. Or denial.

It was pure ice, and she was afraid.

She was afraid of the one person who could make her feel alive. And she hated the feeling. It made her hopeful, made her dream, and made her feel loved.

He made her laugh.

He was the reason she began fighting with her father.

He was the cause of her denial.

Because Seth Clearwater was the one good thing in her life. And she didn't want to let him go.


	2. Impediment

"I've packed your lunch, so don't forget it. It's on the island." Her father said, hurriedly throwing things into his briefcase and his daughter rolled her dark kohl eyes.

"Of course not."

"And your car's come back from repairs, so that's done there." He said, fumbling with his tie and she smirked before slipping off the bar stool to help him.

"Here." She said, easily tying his tie and Darth Sylvester smiled down at his daughter.

"Thank you, darling." He placed a kiss on her forehead and she smiled, which quickly vanished the moment her sister and mother walked into the room, giggling like high school girls.

"Heather, I'm off for work. Love you." Their father kissed the blonde woman who swooned while her elder daughter gagged, and Darth was gone with a whoosh of air and the slammed front door.

"Morning, mother." The black clothed girl said simply to be polite, and Heather placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead much like Darth had done a moment before, but her step-daughter cringed at the contact.

"What, not going to say hello to me? I came home last night, you could have stayed up for me." Talia Knott Sylvester teased her elder sister who scowled.

"Yes, what a pity. I was absolutely _dying _to see you." Damien Elvira Sylvester snapped, slamming her empty milk glass down on the counter, snatched up her lunch and stormed out of the house, not waiting for them to call after her, which they never did.

Cool, crisp autumn wind bit at her heated cheeks as she let out a deep sigh, deciding to walk to her first day to school.

Making her way to her first class of Sophomore year which was Psychology, Damien chose a seat at the back of the room, dropped her bag next to the chair and slumped into the seat.

Her fingers traced black marks on her arms absently as she pulled her sleeves lower to cover her wrists.

She did not inflict self harm upon herself or suffer from depression. She believed that was for the weak.

And Damien, on herself, was anything but weak.

"Good morning, class! Welcome to a new year at La Push High!" A young woman said cheerily, and Damien glanced up at the new lady in annoyance before slouching lower in her seat and putting on her usual scowl.

"My name is Lily Saunderson, and I'll be your psychology teacher for this year. I'm sure we'll get along very well." Lily said, looking directly at Damien, who was now glaring at the teacher. "I'd like you all to introduce yourselves, so please tell me your names and what you love doing in order."

She started with Liam Jones, the idiot. He said his favorite thing to do was flirt with pretty girls and people laughed for absolutely no applicable reason Damien could find.

It went on until she reached the last row and asked brightly "What's your name?"

Damien wanted nothing more than to rip that pretty little smile off of Lily's face. Instead, she replied with a bored "Damien."

"Ooh, what a lovely name! It's rather dark, isn't it?"

"You could say that."

"And what do you love to do, Damien?"

The entire class was staring at her with wide eyes and held breaths, and the young girl simply replied "Imagine torturing people. And pretending I actually care about what you're saying."

Everyone was silent, and the teacher's lips parted in surprise. Damien felt a pang of satisfaction. One teacher down, who knew not to mess with her.

"R-right, well. I'm sure you'll do well in my class." The woman stuttered, averting her gaze from the cold child's stare, which honestly freaked her out more than anything.

Lily went up to the white board and had started teaching something about Section 1 Nervous System and Damien zoned out until she heard a slam as the door banged open and many people jumped in surprise.

"I'm so sorry I'm late." A deep voice said hurriedly and the teacher gave the boy an annoyed look before Damien saw her face morph into something which disgusted her. Lust.

Oh God, what a pedophile.

"It's alright. What's your name?"

"Seth Clearwater." Damien's head snapped to the boy, and an impressed look crossed her face for a moment before it disappeared.

Psychology was an Advanced Placement class, and the fact that a Quileute had managed to make it there was quite the achievement. She had always doubted their brains, knowing that all those above six feet good-looking boys had was girls trailing after them and numerous one night stands.

But this one seemed to be an outlier. How interesting. Not.

"I'm Lily Saunderson. Please, take a seat." Clearwater looked flustered at the fact that the teacher wasn't screaming at him, and took a seat next to a short brunette Damien wasn't bothered in identifying.

Ms. Saunderson continued her class, throwing occasional glances and smiles to the Clearwater boy, and Damien almost fell asleep.

"Damien, this class has ended. You may leave now." Saunderson said, an edge in her voice as the girl snapped back into reality.

"Thank you, for making this such an educative class for me, Miss Saunderson." Damien stood up with a small smile which comforted Lily in no way whatsoever.

"Any time." She growled as Damien exited with a flourish, holding in an urge to smack a student on her very first day.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, as expected. She was pretty popular, despite being a weirdo. But her former friend, Fria gave her occasional jab for wearing black, being a bitch and even a snide comment on her getting arrested last weekend. God, she was going to kill that girl.

She ate her lunch on the football pitch as usual, glad of the fact that this year was going to be no different from the last. Except, of course, Talia was returning. And her younger-by-one-year fourteen year old sister was nothing but destruction and added problems.

Talia and Damien had always been moving with their parents from country to country, but Darth and Heather fell in love with the ugly greenery of Forks, Washington, and decided to stay there. Talia missed her old friends, being the polar opposite of Damien and exceedingly popular with everyone. Their father allowed her to study for one more year in her previous school, before bringing her back here.

And now Damien was stuck with her again.

She hated Talia for the unforgivable things she had done a long time ago, and even though the girl had done everything possible to get back into Damien's good books, it was never going to happen.

She had taken too many lives, been too selfish.

And left Damien scarred.

"How was your first day?" Was the first thing out of her mother's mouth the second Damien got home.

"The usual."

"Did you have fun?"

"No."

"Made any new friends?"

"Did you expect me to?"

Heather was silent for a while, and Damien was glad.

"There's ham in the fridge." Talia gave her sister a bright smile as she walked down the stairs looking like a slut, as per se.

"Maybe you should use it. I'm pretty sure it would cover up more skin than that stupid skirt your wearing right now." Damien said, tilting her head to the side with a wide smile matching Talia's as she watched her face flush, amused.

"Damien, don't curse. And Talia, please go change." Heather ordered and both girls shut up, knowing that their step-mother was not a pleasant sight when annoyed. "Damien, your father has signed you up for a few after-school classes you must attend, starting today." Heather told Damien, balancing clean plates in her arms as she cautiously walked into the kitchen.

Damien's head snapped up from where she was lounging on the couch. "Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said. Starting today. You have dance today. I've made the timetable you must follow, it's on your desk."

"Hasenhirn mutter." Damien hissed, dark eyes flashing.

"What did you call me?" Heather asked, eyebrows raised.

"Nothing." Damien grumbled.

"Yeah, it better be nothing. And please don't curse at me in German, you know I won't understand you either way."

"Which is why I do it. Now, to settle matters. I will not be going for this dance class you have signed me up in." Damien followed her step mother into the kitchen, leaning against the door frame.

"Oh yes you will. Your father has signed you up for it, there is no space for your or my say in it. And you know you cannot go against his word." Heather said, bustling around the kitchen, cleaning and pulling ingredients for dinner out.

"We can come to an agreement." Damien offered, and her mother laughed.

"Darling, in the past eight years you've known me, have I ever taken up your bribes?" Heather chuckled and Damien scowled.

"I do not offer you bribes. They are merely compensations and we can come to terms for once." The fifteen year old defended as Heather shook her head.

"I will not let my husband down. And these are important. It may also increase your social activeness. And Damien, in case you don't know, a hundred dollars is considered a bribe."

Damien groaned. "You have my perfect sister for social activeness. And no one likes me, anyway."

"Which is why I'm going to give you such a fabulous makeover no one will ever recognize you!" Her mother said, clapping her hands together in pure glee and Damien looked appalled.

"What have you been drinking lately? Have you gone completely mad, woman?" Damien demanded, protectively wrapping her arms around her tall frame.

"Oh, hush. Don't be rude. It's a good idea. And if you don't go, I'll get my things right now and force you out of here." Heather warned playfully, but her daughter saw no such fun in the threat.

"That is blackmail!"

"Damien, I promise, it'll be fun." Heather said, and pushed the girl towards the stairs. "Now go change, and wear something... not black. It's a special day, love!" Heather sang, dancing into the kitchen as Damien glared after her.

She hated her happy-go-lucky step mother who refused to be dampened by Damien's constant smart comments.

She hated her father even more for marrying the insane mortal. But she couldn't hate her father, he was the one thing she loved with all her heart in her desolate life.

And he was the one person she looked up to and listened to. But he was going to get it the moment he came home, whenever that was.

Darth Sylvester was a Von Essen businessman, and traveled often because of his work.

So, ten minutes later Damien was standing outside her house with a terrifying expression on her face.

"Oh, Damien! I told you not to wear black! It's so casual!" Heather clicked her tongue in irritation as Damien refrained from glaring at her step mother.

Damien was wearing, what she considered, very formal. Black cuffed shirt and caprices with Converse sneakers was not casual in her mind. But some people can not be pleased, can they?

"Do you want me to come with you or should I lock myself in the garage?" Damien asked, eyes flashing in a threatening manner.

"Christ, never mind. TALIA! HURRY UP!" Heather screamed up the stairs and Damien winced at her step mother's high pitched voice.

"I'm coming! Sorry!" Talia ran down the stairs and her older sister gaped.

"Talia, you aren't leaving this house until you wear something more conservative." Damien demanded and Talia looked down at her dress, confused.

"What's wrong with it?"

"What's not wrong with it? It barely covers your knees!"

"It's supposed to be mid-thigh! That's the beauty of it." Talia protested, before giggling and twirling around while Damien fumed. "Don't you like it, mum?"

"It's great darling, but I agree with Damien on this one. Maybe you should try a pant instead? You're going to dance." Heather tried, and Talia pouted and shook her head childishly, making Damien's hand twitch at the prospect of slapping her sister.

They sat in the car silently, and Damien thought about how different she was from her sister.

Talia enjoyed talking to boys and drinking and partying like a madwoman.

She hadn't a care in the world. Except her hair and looks of course. But she was a true friend. And the best judge of character Damien had ever seen, so she respected her sister for it.

Damien preferred to look at the substantial part of a person, the thing that made them what they were. And that was why she was popular in her own way at school.

She liked sitting in her garage with her best friends Lenny and Kiki and refining cars and refitting them with new engines. She enjoyed drinking, too. She liked the adrenaline rush when running from the Bulls. Or as normal people called them, police. Talia stayed away from 'crimes' like that.

"We're here." Heather said, albeit slightly breathless in excitement whereas Damien merely rolled her eyes, silently slipping out of the car.

"Hi, how can I help you?" A short, squat woman at the front desk of Heidi's School of Dance smiled at Damien, who scowled fiercely back at her. Pleased, when the lady seemed to recoil.

"Um, enrollment for Damien and Talia Sylvester?" Their step-mother asked, twirling her blonde hair around her finger. A habit Damien had come to associate with bubbling enthusiasm.

"Of course! It's the first day, and we have a lot of other first-time students from Port Angeles as well." The receptionist said, pointing to a door on her right, where Damien could see dancers warming up through the glass.

_Perfect. Absolutely perfect._ She thought bitterly and allowed her excited sister to lead her into the room.

"Okay, if you see anyone you know, please introduce me, okay?" Talia whispered as she clutched Damien's hand.

Pulling her hand away, Damien nodded and scanned the room for familiar faces.

A Cheshire-like grin spread across her face when she spotted the one person she was dying to see.

"Talia, over there. That blonde boy with blue eyes." She pointed, and her younger sister looked over.

"What's his name?"

"Liam Jones. He's a great guy. Go meet him." Damien gave her sister a slight push.

"You sure?"

Damien nodded. "Yeah."

She felt wicked. Liam definitely wasn't going to be letting go of Talia soon, so she needn't worry about that.

Just get the class over with.

"Ellie?" Damien knew the voice before she turned around.

"Kiki? What are you doing here?" She looked as surprised as the pale green-eyed girl in front of her.

"I could ask you the same, Ellie." Kiki teased and Damien frowned. "Not here, Kiki. I don't want people to start calling me that."

Kiki laughed. "Not unless they want to avoid having kids ever again."

Damien smiled. She really liked Kiki, though the girl could be a handful at times. She loved the cat-and-mouse chase more than Damien did. Practically an addict, she was.

"Right, everyone settle down!" A man with a long beard and bright brown eyes hollered, and Damien glanced at Talia. She looked like she was having fun.

The man introduced himself as Creek Willis, an odd name for a person in general. He explained the basic steps they would be learning for that day and warned that he did not tolerate rude or attitudinal-issued children, making many laugh again for no reason whatsoever. Or maybe Damien's sense of humor was just non-existent. She wouldn't know, even though Lenny and Kiki were quite hilarious to her.

They were in the middle of practicing a weird hopping movement, Damien glaring at the floor at the ridiculousness of it and Kiki trying to hold in her laugh at seeing her uptight and stiff friend perform the steps.

Suddenly, for the second time in the day, the door slammed open and in stepped the tall, muscular Seth Clearwater in all his glory.

Damien was irritated at the fact that he couldn't show up at a class on time, and was about to comment on it but decided not to as Mr Willis began to speak to him, and she re-zoned out, trying to focus on her feet and the pattern's Creek had shown.

A few minutes later though, she saw the Quileute walk over to stand in front of her and hissed in annoyance. He was just too tall.

She was about to tap on his shoulder and ask him to move, but barely got the chance, because her darling sister being the klutz she was, found that to be the opportune moment to trip over Liam's giant feet and crash into Damien.


	3. Lincoln

Seth

I watched the clumsy girl's face burn in embarrassment.

"Shit, I'm so sorry!" She started apologizing, hurriedly getting up and offering a hand to the girl she'd fallen on.

The one on the floor looked slightly dazed, but she smacked the hand away and stood up. "Can you not control yourself more more than ten minutes, or are you just physically inept?" She growled, and my eyebrows raised in surprise. She's pretty rude to her friend.

"It was an accident!" She protested but she merely brushed her off. I guess she's just having a bad day.

"Girls, it's fine. Is anyone hurt?" The Willis guy who'd scolded me for coming late briskly asked and when they shook their heads, he nodded and told them to stand back in line.

I don't have any idea what I'm even _doing_ in this place. I'm a wolf for God's sake! Protector of the native lands. I liked that title. My sister Leah hated being a wolf though. She said I was too naive to understand, but I knew she was still hurting over Dad and Sam imprinting on Emily.

The idea of imprinting was awesome. I mean, spending your life with someone who'd love you no matter what was something I looked forward to. If I ever do, because Sam said it wasn't normal, but our pack's kind of different. That's why I didn't have a girlfriend because if I did imprint I didn't want to break her heart. Also, I was too young to date according to my mom.

Back to the class, Sam signed me up for this because he wanted me to experience how it was to be a normal teenager and all, but I knew I wasn't. It could be because I honestly love to dance. People say it's a girl thing, but I like doing it anyway.

"Hey girl, nice moves." I heard a girl comment over the loud music (because my ears are awesome like that).

"Shut up, Kiki." The one who fell groaned and I smiled. So she _was_ having a bad day. I wonder what school she goes to, I've never seen her before.

"We should totally record you dancing and post it all over YouTube." Her friend Kiki said, laughing.

"If you're willing to never use your fingers again, I'd tell you to go for it." She replied. She was good at comebacks, a lot like Jacob and Leah. They'd make great friends.

After the class, Mr Willis told us about the next class on Thursday and I followed my friend Johnny out of the complex and said we'd meet up tomorrow. It was a pretty huge place. I didn't want to ask how much the class fee was, and mum wouldn't have told me, either.

"Seth! Hurry up! We have patrol in ten minutes!" Leah honked the car horn and I waved at her. Thank God she came to pick me up, I didn't want to go on Jake's Rabbit.

"So, how was your class?" My sister asked me once I was in the car, and threw my bag in the back seat.

"Awesome. I was kind of late though. Then, in the middle these two girls tripped and stopped the class for a minute, but it was great otherwise. Thanks for letting me go, Leah." I said and she smiled slightly, ruffling my short hair.

"Any time, Seth. That must have been embarrassing, having fallen in front of everyone." She laughed, and I grinned.

"It was pretty funny, actually."

"Did you make any other friends?"

"Nah, I was pretty late and didn't have much time."

Leah nodded. "Next time, then. So, wanna go to a movie this weekend?"

My face lit up. "Seriously? When?"

"Saturday. I got a promotion at my job today." She said and I whooped, giving her a huge hug.

"Holy shit, Seth! I'm trying to drive here!" She cried, and I pulled away with a sheepish smile. "Sorry. And congratulations."

"Yeah. So, pick a movie." She said, handing me today's newspapers.

* * *

Damien was sitting on her bed. Reading through the timetable so perfectly prepared by her step-mother. And cursing the lady into oblivion.

_Honestly _though. Piano lessons? Horse riding? No one even requires calligraphy skills anymore, and Damien knew her father had not been thinking properly when he noted all these down.

Softly padding down the hall to Talia's bedroom, she hesitated before sharply rapping her knuckles on the door. "Talia?"

Her sister yanked the door open, and Damien's eyes widened before she closed her eyes and clenched her jaw. "Bleeding... Talia, put some pants on!"

"Wha- Oh my God!" Talia yelped, slamming the door shut in Damien's face. She felt a disapproving scowl make it's place on her lips and turned her heel, hurrying back to her own room.

Five minutes later, when Damien was trying to work on her practice homework, a slight knock on her door pause in her calculations.

"Come in."

"Damien?" Talia stepped into her sister's room for the first time and looked around, fascinated.

Black and white paintings hung on the deep green walls, and soft lights illuminated the entire room, giving it quite an eerie glow. It reflected Damien, she thought.

"Sorry, about the.. pant thing." Talia muttered, embarrassed. She was apologizing a lot today.

"It's fine." Damien answered, not looking up from her writing. "Try to dress more appropriately, though."

"Yeah. Did you- need something?" Talia asked, tentatively. She felt awkward standing in the dark room, but Damien finally looked at her with a frown, handing her a laminated paper.

"Do you have the same?" She questioned, and Talia scanned the timetable before shaking her head.

"I have violin and ballroom dance. It's cool, more dancing for me." Talia smiled but Damien didn't return it. "At least we're in the same building... right?"

"I suppose so. Maybe not for the sports, though." Damien sighed, annoyed. It would have made it more bearable if Talia was with her, as much as she disliked her sister it was easier when you had someone you knew.

"It's fine. I don't mind." Talia shrugged before walking out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Damien glared at the door, before shaking her head and returning to her self-appointed homework.

Five minutes later, "DAMIEN!" Heather screamed up the stairs and Damien groaned, throwing her book onto the pillow and storming out of her room.

"What do you want, Heather?" She snapped, and her step-mother raised an eyebrow.

"That's mom for you, young lady."

"Fine." Damien ground out, "What do you need, _mom_?" Her voice was almost mocking and her black eyes hard. Heather could see she was angry. It worried her, but she ignored the daggers, asking "Since your father won't be home soon and I need to get to work, will you be alright driving around by yourself? Don't let Talia drive, of course."

"You called me for asking a stupid question?"

"It's a legitimate question!" Her mother argued, and after a moment's pause Damien settled into a smirk.

"This is illegal."

Heather laughed, shaking her head and turning around to where she was knitting a sweater. "I'm sure you'd be familiar with activities as such."

Damien's lip curled into a calculating smile. "If I do this, will you agree to the terms of our arrangement?"

Heather glanced up at her daughter, surprised. "Damien..."

"It's quite simple. You will not force me to attend certain classes I disagree with, and in return I will drive." She said, pressing the tips of her fingers together.

Heather was silent for a while. "Your father already paid for those classes. If he finds out, Damien. And it's a steep price for asking you to drive around."

Damien pursed her lips in annoyance. "It is not a easy thing for a fifteen year old to drive around the capital city without getting caught, mother."

Heather let out a scoff. "On a forged licence? Of course it isn't. Do you agree to mow the lawn every weekend?"

Damien pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes. And if I get caught you can put me back in those classes. In return, I will choose what activities to attend, and have someone else attend the rest for me under my name."

"Oh God, we could get arrested for this." Heather gasped and Damien rolled her eyes.

"It is not a big deal. And we won't, trust me."

And Damien head back up to her room, hopefully to no more interruptions.

That was, until ten minutes later when Talia screamed "DAMIEN! HELP! THERE'S A COCKROACH IN THE BATHROOM!"

Oh, Damien was beyond _irritated _now.

* * *

"Ellie! How are ya, old girl?" Lenny bounded up to Damien and tackled her to the ground.

"Ow! Watch it, Leonard!" Damien cried, and her friend Leonard the Third laughed loudly, rolling off of her.

"Same old Ellie, with the stick stuck up her ass." He teased, and she glowered, standing up to brush grass off her pants.

"Same old Leonard, with the darling, mooched up smile on his face." She answered, a sweet smile gracing her lips which Lenny knew was just to mock him.

He jumped up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "C'mon, I said I'm sorry."

"You stole my car parts! Those cost me almost two grand!" She gave him a brutal scowl and Lenny chuckled. "I know, love. Come on, Kiki helped me put her together for you."

"What?" She whipped around, "Leonard, what did you do with my- oh." Damien's jaw slackened slightly as she took in the car before her.

"You built her? Right from ground up?" She asked, scanning the car admiringly.

"Told you I'd get a reaction outta her." Lenny winked at Kiki, who smoothly slid out of the driver's seat.

"I still haven't forgiven you, Lenny." Damien said, walking forward to examine the sleek silver and blue beauty up close. Lenny face-palmed. He knew she wasn't actually mad because she called him Lenny.

The black-clad girl ran her hands over the bonnet and smiled. "You definitely used my parts."

Lenny scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "That extra NOS and crankshaft came in handy."

"I'm damn sure it did." Damien muttered, lifting the hood and looking inside. "Holy shit, I've never seen anything of the likes, Lenny."

Kiki grinned proudly, "'Course you haven't, it's not even out yet in them stores."

Damien let out a low laugh. Typical Kiki, she could always be counted on to do it the non-legal way. Before she spotted the glitch.

"Come look at this." She frowned, and her two friend's looked down to where she was pointing.

"Oh, damn. How did _that _happen?" Kiki whistled, and Lenny groaned. "That's Ellie's spark plug. Guess I picked a dead one."

Damien glared at him. "Can't you even steal properly? You honestly took a worn out plug?"

He snorted. "I figured rich girl would at least have good ones."

Damien shook her head, annoyed. People were getting to her today, and she was afraid she might lash out on someone by accident. It would not have made a pretty picture. "Come on, I'll fix her a new one. How did she run without a working one?"

Kiki stuck out her lower lip and shrugged. "Dunno. Lucky shot, I guess."

While Damien worked on the spark plugs, Lenny and Kiki sat on the grass on her lawn and drank Kool-Aid while chatting about the most random things in which Damien couldn't find the resemblance between one conversation and the next.

"I think I'm done." She said after twenty minutes, wiping sweat off her brow and smiling victoriously. Kiki threw her a Kool Aid and Damien sat down on the grass between them.

"So, I was tellin' Lenny about your dancing." Kiki started, a mischievous gleam in her green eye. Damien's own eyes widened and she shook her head minutely.

Kiki ignored her. "And she does some fine dancing, I can tell you that."

Lenny chuckled at Damien's now-flushed face as she smacked Kiki on the arm lightly.

"I'd pay to see that." He said, wrapping an arm around his friend again and she shook her head, incredulous at their stupid teasing.

For the next few hours, the three friends worked on Lenny's car, drank Budweiser and cracked jokes on Talia and Lenny; he really liked Damien's sister for unfathomable reasons.

"Alright, get your ass back home. I need to sleep." Damien finally yawned, stretching over the bonnet of the car they had decided to name Lincoln, in honor of the 16th president of the United States.

"I'm beat." Kiki muttered, leaning against Lenny as her eyes drooped in exhaustion. It wasn't easy fixing up a car.

"Pusses." Lenny rolled his eyes and high-fived Damien before pulling Kiki into Lincoln and she waved as they drove back to La Push, where Lenny would drop Kiki home.

"How are your friends?" Heather asked, handing Damien her dinner and smiling.

She shrugged. "The usual. Kiki told me to say hello to you."

Her step-mother's smile widened in happiness. "Really? What a sweetheart! I'll send her something to take home when she comes over next."

"You do that." Damien replied, turning around to take her dinner to her room and a plan to eat in peace. Thankfully, no one disturbed her that night with screaming of insects and idiotic queries.

She stood in front of her wall window, expression brooding as she looked down at the lively variety of life on the street. She didn't sleep.


End file.
